The Campus Journalism Act (CJA) of 1991 has proven insufficient to protect student journalists from campus press freedom violations (CPFVs), media freedom advocates said.
In the Re:Press forum held last Sept. 27 at the University of the Philippines Diliman, campus journalists shared the challenges student publications often face such as tedious bureaucratic processes, censorship and limited access to funding.
From 2023 to 2024, 206 CPFVs have been recorded across the country, according to a report by the College Editors Guild of the Philippines (CEGP). This figure is nearly double the 100 cases tallied by the nationwide alliance from 2022 to 2023.
The rising incidents of CPFVs prompted media advocates to intensify their campaign for the immediate passage of the Campus Press Freedom (CPF) bill, which has been stalled in Congress for 13 years.
Although the CJA was intended to empower student journalists in the country, media advocates said that the law is already outdated and is insufficient to address the current needs of campus publications today. For instance, the law does not outright bar school administrators from interfering with the school papers’ content and requires educational institutions to fund their student publications.
The law also failed to keep up with the digital shift in campus journalism. Former TomasinoWeb adviser Leo Laparan II said that the lack of resolution on the University of Santo Tomas (UST) admin’s censorship controversy toward TomasinoWeb reveals the need for stronger protections for online campus publications.
“As you can see, 1991 pa ‘yung batas [CJA of 1991], hindi na-foresee ng batas na ito na magkakaroon ng digital media, so isa ‘yun sa mga sana ma-highlight kapag magkakaroon ng pagbabago sa batas na ito,” Laparan said.
READ: ‘Flaw-ridden’ Campus Journalism Act burdens high school journos
However, the CPF bill is at risk again of being tabled in Congress as there are only eight months left before the 19th Congress concludes in June 2025.
“If this isn’t passed before session closes, we would have to repass it again, so mawawala ‘yung progress that we’ve conducted so far,” Kabataan Party-list (KPL) 1st Nominee Renee Co said.
Starting from the first version of the CPF Bill filed in 2011, below is the timeline of the bill’s progress:
2011
February 28, 2011: Then KPL Rep. Raymond V. Palatino and Bayan Muna Party-list Rep. Teddy A. Casiño filed House Bill (HB) 4287 or the Campus Press Freedom Act, aiming to repeal the “seriously-flawed” RA 7079.
Among the reasons stated in the bill were the legalization of the non-mandatory collection of publication fee, broad exemptions on which articles can and cannot be published, and the lack of penalty clauses for violators.
March 7, 2011: The bill was referred to the Committee on Basic Education and Culture and was secondarily referred to the Committee on Higher and Technical Education.
2013
July 16, 2013: The Campus Press Freedom Act was refiled by former KPL Rep. Terry L. Ridon under HB 1493.
July 29, 2013: Referral was also made to the Committee on Higher and Technical Education.
HB 1493 was scheduled for its first hearing on May 21, 2014, but progress was stalled.
2016
September 15, 2016: The CPF Bill was refiled by former KPL Rep. Sarah Elago through HB 3636.
September 21, 2016: HB 3636 was referred to the Committee on Public Information in the lower house.
2018
July 10, 2018: Former senator Leila de Lima filed Senate Bill (SB) 1868 following a concern after the decision of San Beda University – Senior High School to bar its official student publication from releasing its 1,700 copies of its second issue due to contents that allegedly “did not pass the standards of the school.
July 25, 2018: SB 1868 was deliberated on its first reading and was referred to the Committees on Education, Arts and Culture and Public Information and Mass Media.
2019
July 1, 2019: Elago renews the push on the CPF Bill by filing HB 319.
July 23, 2019: Following the same route as the previous refilings, HB 319 was referred to the Committee on Higher and Technical Education.
July 24, 2019: CEGP filed a complaint before the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) urging action against CPFVs, stating that they have recorded almost 1,000 violations since 2010.
In a statement, the CEGP claimed that the CJA of 1991 served the opposite of its purpose.
August 28, 2019: Former President Rodrigo Duterte signs RA 11440, recognizing July 25 of every year as National Campus Press Freedom Day.
2020
February 17, 2020: The House Committee on Higher Technical Education created a Technical Working Group (TWG) for HB 319 but was interrupted as the legislative body prioritized COVID-19 response.
May 12, 2020: Almost a year after Elago refiled HB19, De Lima sponsored a counterpart bill in the Senate under SB 1524. On the same day, the Senate referred the bill to the Committees on Education, Arts and Culture and Public Information and Mass Media but did not progress further.
Compared to the House bill, SB 124 contains similar goals with slight differences in the provisions pertaining to funding and independence of elementary and secondary school publications.
In the bill, de Lima also mentioned the irony of RA 11440 amid the constant attacks of the state on the campus press.
July 24, 2020: The CEGP filed another complaint, this time before the Commission on Human Rights (CHR), expressing concern that the distance learning set-up could lead to increased violations against campus press freedom.
September 28, 2020: Former Agusan del Norte 1st District Rep. Lawrence Fortun proposed the Student Journalists’ Rights Act of 2020 under HB 7780, also seeking to repeal the CJA of 1991.
HB 7780 also focuses more on the regulations of the material and content that school publications release. It also imposes lighter penalties for violators compared to HB 319, with imprisonment ranging from 90 to 180 days and fines ranging from P50,000 to P100,000.
September 30, 2020: HB 7780 was referred to the Committee on Higher and Technical Education and also remained stuck at the committee level since.
2021
July 23, 2021: After Alyansa dagiti Agkaykaysa nga Mannalon – Cagayan Valley (ALAM-CV) red-tagged, Ang Pahayagang Plaridel (De La Salle University Manila’s official student publication) staffer Kai Reyes along with the League of Filipino Students and KPL, the CEGP launched a petition seeking for the CHED’s action on the persistence of CPFVs.
2022
July 2022 to November 2022: KPL Rep. Raoul Manuel filed HB 1155 while Senator Bong Revilla filed SB 1464. Both bills were referred to the Committee on Higher and Technical Education.
2023
February 2023: A joint committee hearing by the Committees on Higher and Technical Education and Public Information and Mass Media was held for SB 1464. A TWG was conducted but no progress was reported.
October 24, 2023: CEGP and An Lantawan alumni released statements condemning the Leyte National University’s (LNU) “repressive” policies against An Lantawan, LNU’s official student publication.
READ: Campus pub in Leyte remains in limbo amid university’s ‘repressive’ policies
2024
February 17, 2024: An online censorship controversy sparked between the UST Office of Student Affairs (OSA) and TomasinoWeb, leading to Leo Laparan II’s resignation from his post as TomasinoWeb’s adviser.
This happened after OSA ordered the online media organization to take down a certain photo of College of Information and Computing Sciences (CICS) students wearing their type B uniform while entering a convenience store as it caused “public ridicule.”
March 11, 2024: Manuel filed House Resolution No. 1633 seeking to launch investigations on the UST OSA’s actions against TomasinoWeb.
July 29, 2024: The Committee on Higher and Technical Education held a congress hearing discussing HB 1155.
Committee chairperson Mark Go approved the motion to create a TWG to “thrash out issues and concerns that have been raised” regarding the CPF Bill during the hearing.
As of press time, no progress on the deliberation of the said bill has been made. Two months have passed since the previous house committee hearing.
